They’re new but they’re quite old. Three new kiosks were placed a couple of weeks ago in three of Lisbon’s squares, serving traditional refreshments to passers-by. These used to be found all over the city in the 19th century but died out over time, only to be brought back to life now, much to nostalgic Lisboeta’s joy. They serve revived versions of traditional drinks using long-forgotten recipes, and are found in Camões Square, Jardim do Principe Real, and Praça das Flores. Others will open in the next few months, and many of them will be renovated stands from the 19th century. That’s the case of the one pictured above, standing behind the monument of Camões. It’s been cleaned up and given a fresh coat of paint, now serving sandwiches and refreshing drinks, but no sodas or beer. The drinks are orchata (made with almonds), lemonade, iced tea, Port wine, and capilé which is perhaps the most “exotic” of all, made with spleenwort. As for the sandwiches, how about one with cod or olives?! No, there are no coca-colas or cheese sandwiches here.

Now that globalization brought the brands and habits from pretty much everywhere else, Lisbon seems to be feeling a little nostalgic for its own traditions. Vintage shops have become success stories, and while Starbucks may have “finally” opened in the city a few months ago, Lisbon seems to be making the effort to revive or keep its own flavors. These charming kiosks do that job quite well, serving locals and curious tourists from 7:30AM to 11PM (the one in Camões Square serves until midnight).

Traveller's House, Lisbon

We always knew that Lisbon had the coolest, most chic and all-round best hostels. But this was officially confirmed back in January with the announcement of the Hoscars for 2008.

Mario mentioned this in passing while he announced our very own GoLisbon Oscars (Goscars?) for the Top 5 Hostels for 2008.

But the official Hoscars really give you a good idea of which cities around the world are home to the best hostels, because more than 800,000 travellers voted in last year’s edition, with more than 20,000 establishments competing and being judged on 6 criteria: character, security, location, staff, fun and cleanliness.

And Lisbon took the first 3 places in the Hoscars Top 10 list, with Traveller’s House Hostel winning first prize. 800,000 travellers can’t be wrong, and visitors to GoLisbon.com can’t be either, since they voted with their bookings and also made this marvellous hostel Number 1 on our very own Top 5 list mentioned previously.

The Rossio Hostel came second in the voting, with Lisbon Lounge third, and a very respectable eighth place for the Goodnight Backpackers Hostel.

And the prizes for Lisbon didn’t stop there: Lisbon Lounge also took 1st Prize in the “Cleanest Hostel” category, and Rossio Hostel came top in the “Most Fun” and “Best Small Hostel” categories

But it’s impossible not to admire the achievement of the Traveller’s Hostel. 1st Prize in the Hoscars, and top also in the “Hostel with Best Location” and “Hostel with Most Character” categories, as well as most booked hostel from GoLisbon.com in 2008.

But if you’re thinking of visiting Lisbon and are looking for cheap, top quality accommodation, don’t limit your search to the hostels mentioned here, however good they are. Try out too, Lisbon’s 5 newest hostels, which haven’t yet had a chance to compete in these prestigious awards but for sure will be in the running next year.

And the fierce competition will be putting the rest of Lisbon’s hostels on their toes, making sure that you, the client, enjoys the prefect stay in the perfect city.

So, the winner is…. Lisbon! And you, the visitors to this sun-filled city, which is now on top of the world for cheap, first-rate accommodation

It’s May 1st — time to start thinking about the summer! GoLisbon has just updated its Lisbon Calendar of Events, listing the city’s upcoming concerts. If you’ll be in the Portuguese capital this summer, you’ll be able to catch shows by Beyonce, ACDC, Elton John, Katy Perry (who we just told you is of Portuguese descent), Kylie Minogue, Metallica and Dave Matthews Band at the Optimus festival, The Eagles, Anastacia, and more. In the upcoming weeks other names will surely be announced, so keep checking GoLisbon’s Calendar of Events throughout the season.

You can also get ticket information through that page, as well as know how and where you can catch this season’s final football/soccer games of Portugal’s SuperLiga.
Enjoy the shows!